Wooden Star
by tanmaree
Summary: Season 1 divergence. How did Guinevere and Arthur meet? Story reinterprets the events in Season 1 to include more interaction between the two of them and explore their history.
1. Chapter 1

"Who'd want to marry Arthur?" Guinevere heard herself say it then reprimanded herself mentally for being so unkind to the future King. Arthur was…pompous, condescending, arrogant and a bit of a bully but there was also another side of him, a side which was kept sealed away, only shown to a select few.

Once, he'd briefly shown that side of himself to her. She doubted he remembered it now for it was many years ago. She'd been barely twelve and one minute her mother had been alive and breathing…the next she wasn't. There'd been no time for private grieving and Guinevere's father had packed her off to her job at the castle the very next day. Halfway through her day, Guinevere had found herself sitting on a step sobbing as she half-blindly tried to repair a tear in one of Morgana's dresses.

"There's no need for tears, it's just a stupid dress."

"I'm not crying over a dress!"She snapped then looked up and took a sharp intake of breath when she realized who exactly she'd just snapped at. "I'm sorry, My Lord," she said on a rushed breath, he was only a little older than her but he was still to be addressed properly.

The Prince tilted his head and watched her as she tried in wain to swipe away the tears marking her young face; "Then what is the cause for the tears? Surely not a boy."

Guinevere had no idea what _that_ meant. Was he implying that no boy would look at her because she was a mere servant? "What if it is a boy?"

Arthur stood up straight and puffed his chest out; "If you say he has disgraced you then I will defend your honor, I am training to be a knight."

Guinevere almost laughed despite her tears, the idea of the Prince of Camelot defending her honor was surely an amusing prospect but she shook her head instead; "It's not a boy, My Lord."

"It's not the dress, it's not a boy, what is it?"

"What does it matter to you, My Lord?"

"I am to be King one day, I can't have servants weeping on my castle steps making a spectacle of themselves."

He was just being a rude boy now, she was sitting in a secluded stairwell, there was no one but him to see her tears. "I'm sorry if my grief is inconvenient for you, Sire."

"Grief?"

"Yes, Sire, my mother died recently. My father says she is now a star in the sky and that is how I can speak to her but I'm not sure if I believe it." She blurted it all out needing to tell someone how she was feeling but as she said it, she realized the Prince of Camelot was not the appropriate person to be sharing her thoughts and feelings with.

He shifted from foot to foot and had the good grace to at least look uncomfortable, he did not however have the good grace to apologize or offer his condolences. Instead he asked; "How recently?"

"Yesterday, Sire."

Something she couldn't identify flashed in his blue eyes; understanding? Guilt? In an instant it was gone and he was frowning down at her; "Tomorrow, leave your grief at home there is no place for it here." He said it harshly and turned on his heel and strode off leaving her sniffling on the step clutching Morgana's dress tighter than was necessary.

The next day, she was walking down a corridor when the Prince rounded the corner and headed towards her followed by his manservant and tutor. Guinevere looked around for an alcove to slip into and hide until he passed. She didn't want another encounter with the Prince. But there was no where to hide. She kept her head lowered as she had been taught to do in the presence of royalty. She did not look up until a warm body collided with hers and hands pressed a small object into her hand. The Prince barely looked at her as their fingers brushed and his bicep brushed her shoulder as he pushed passed her and continued down the corridor without a backwards glance.

Guinevere lingered in the corridor watching him disappear around another corner before looking down at the object in her hand. It was wrapped in a rag and she pulled the material aside to reveal whatever it was the Prince wanted her to have. It was a small piece of wood which had been roughly carved into the shape of a star.

That night she'd asked her father to put a small hole through one of its points so she could thread a length of leather through it and wear it around her neck. When her father asked her where she'd gotten the star, she'd merely smiled and said nothing. He wouldn't have believed her had she told him the truth.


	2. Chapter 2

Gwen realized Arthur was a mystery wrapped in an enigma. One minute he was arresting her for sorcery, the next he was willing to lay down his life to obtain a flower to cure his manservant.

Said manservant was standing at her door, looking at her with those eyes and those cheekbones, asking her for a favor. Or two. One for him. One for Gaius. Merlin wanted her father's best sword and for her to follow him to Gaius. Gaius and Merlin explained what they wanted her to do then watched her imploringly.

"Why me?"She asked. But she knew she would do it, she would do anything these two men asked of her.

"Arthur knows the King does not want him to fight so he may be suspicious of me turning up at his door with a remedy he neither wants nor needs."

"Yes, but why me? Surely Merlin could deliver it."

The two men shared an exchange which didn't go unnoticed by Gwen, "What? What haven't you told me?"

"We also need to keep him locked in his chambers;" Merlin stated, "Sit with him."

"Again, why me?"

"We were hoping Arthur would be less suspicious of a pretty face."

"You do realize you are asking me to jeopardize my reputation. A handmaiden spending the night in the Prince's chambers?"

Merlin smiled wickedly; "Don't worry, Gwen, I'll make sure you get in and out unnoticed. And I'll explain your absence to Morgana."

Gwen sighed. Damn him and those eyes.

Gwen raised her hand to knock, then retracted it again, took a deep breath and before she could change her mind again, rapped on the door. She waited until she heard him give permission to enter before she pushed the door open. Prince Arthur was gazing out the window and only turned to her when she had clicked the door shut behind her.

"Guinevere,"he drawled in that way only he could. She curtsied; "My lord, Gaius asked me to bring you a remedy to calm your nerves."

"I'm not nervous."

"To help you sleep, then, you need to be well rested."

He narrowed shockingly blue eyes at her; "Why did he not bring it himself or send Merlin?"

"Gaius is attending to the King and Merlin is preparing your armor for tomorrow."She hoped it sounded plausible.

Was lying to the Prince treason? Surely being complicit in drugging him was. He seemed to accept her reasoning, gestured for her to come forward, took the vial from her and downed it in one go.

He waved a regal hand at her in dismissal; "You can go."

No, she thought, I really can't as he started to sway, the potion taking effect. She stepped forward and gripped his arm and guided him to the bed. He was asleep in mere moments. She pottered around his chambers picking up discarded clothes and straightening furniture before she pulled the key Merlin had given her out of her pocket and locked the door. Surely, Merlin stealing Arthur's keys was an act of treason. She couldn't worry about that now. She settled herself on the windowsill and waited for night to slip away into day and the Prince to wake from his induced slumber.

The fight was brutal, she knew the King could hold his own, but she feared this knight would be the death of Uther Pendragon. Gwen watched the fight from her perch on the Prince's windowsill. The fight was already underway when Arthur finally started to stir. Gwen held her breath as Arthur slowly rose from the bed, stand up to his full height as realization sank in. She watched as he raced to his door and rattled it again and again as if sheer force would make it open.

"There's no use doing that, Sire, we're locked in here."

Arthur spun and glared at her, his expression like thunder and for a moment she was worried. But Arthur was a knight, he would never strike a woman, it was part of the code. But he could and probably would send her to the dungeon. He pointed an acusatory finger at her and strode toward her; "You!"He shook his head; "You drugged me."

She shook her head, sending her curls flying around her face; "No. Not I, Sire, I was merely the messenger. You could not be allowed to fight."

"That is not your decision!"

"You should not have thrown down your gauntlet...My Lord."

"I am a Knight!"

"Yes. You are a great Knight. And you will be a great King but you cannot be a great King if you are dead. That Knight is risen from the dead. Even you cannot kill what is already dead. He would have killed you and then Camelot would be without an heir."

"So you took upon yourself to decide my fate?" His tone said it all, how could she a lowly servant deign to know what a Prince should or should not do?

She shook her head; "I told you, Sire, I was merely the messenger."

"This is treason!" He thundered.

"Not if it's sanctioned by the King."

"My father ordered me to be drugged?"

Gwen nodded; "It was not your battle to fight, Sire. And you are his son he did not want to watch you fight to your death."

He stood glowering at her, his hands clenched into fists, a muscle in his jaw jumping as he clenched it; "I am not a coward."She almost felt sorry for him, trying to defend his right, his need to fight.

"No, Sire, you are not," Gwen paused and looked out the window, down at the fight just in time to see Uther plunge his sword into the Dark Knight and obliterate him, she smiled; "But fear not, Sire, the fight is won. The King has vanquished the knight, all is well."

She stood up, smoothed down her dress and produced the key for the door, Arthur's glower deepened; "You had the key the whole time."

"Yes, My Lord, and now we can both leave."She told him as she brushed past him to the door, shoved the key in the locked and turned it, she was about to pull the door open when his voice soft and low stopped her.

"Why did you do this to me, Guinevere?"He made it sound as if she had done this to him, as if this was personal, just between the two of them. She spun around and walked back to him, standing just shy of being toe to toe. He looked down at her, eyes filled with anger, betrayal and a hint of sadness.

She pulled the little wooden star out from beneath the material of her dress, lifted it over her head and grabbing his wrist in one hand, pressed the star into his palm with the other. He looked down at it, his brow furrowed in confusion; "You kept it."

"Of course I kept it."

"Why? It's terrible, crudely carved by a boy who had no idea what he was doing."

"You see the flaw in its design. I see the kindness behind the gesture. I did it because I couldn't watch you fight a losing battle and die. Not when I know you have the potential to be a great King."

She left him holding the star in his palm, the wooden object eclipsed by the size of his hand, she was at the door when she turned back once more; "I'm sorry you feel betrayed, My Lord."


	3. Chapter 3

"I've decided that I forgive you."

Gwen had just finished giving Arthur a tongue lashing for turning his nose up at the meager food Merlin's mother had provided and was trying to slip away when his voice called her back. She turned back to the Prince, her brow quirked inquisitively wondering what slight on her part he had decided to forgive her for.

"Sire?"

"For drugging me, Guinevere, I forgive you."

From the expression on his face, she could tell that he thought his forgiveness was a great gift, something she needed.

"Thank you My Lord, that is very...gracious of you. Though, I feel no guilt over the matter."

Breakfast bowl still in hand, he turned and stalked toward her, all traces of leniacy disappearing from his expression. Clearly he thought she should feel guilt, should seek penance.

"You feel no guilt?"

"No, Sire, it had to be done, I explained it wasn't personal, I was protecting my Prince."

"It was personal to me!"Arthur thundered and she took a startled step back. He immediately looked contrite.

"Would it have been personal if it were Gaius or Merlin who delivered the drug?"

"No."

"Just me then? Why?"

"I thought we had an understanding, I thought you could see the person I was past the Prince I must be."

That was the betrayal he felt, he thought they could understand and see each other beyond their roles, their stations even though he'd treated her as nothing more than Morgana's servant for all the years they'd known each other. But standing there, looking and feeling completely betrayed, Guinevere felt sorry for him.

When she spoke she softened her tone; "Perhaps if sometimes you acted less like a Prince and more like Arthur more people would see you as something besides a Prince to be obeyed and protected."

He sighed and took a step back, putting even more distance between them and ran a frustrated hand through his hair; "We're not going to win this, we can't."

"We have to. For Merlin."

"I'm leading them to the slaughter."The way he said it, Gwen knew he would feel the loss and guilt of every death that occurred in this battle.

"We have faith in you, Sire, you just need to have faith in yourself and your ability to lead us."

"You're not going to drug me again to protect me from dying in this lossing battle?" He asked it somberly but the corner of his mouth quirked up as he fought the smile lurking there.

Gwen offered a small smile at his attempt of humour, "No, Sire, this time you're not heading into a battle you cannot possibly win."

Arthur watched her for a moment, astounded by the amount of faith, belief and trust she had in him, then he shook his head and tilted his head in a teasing manner; "When a Knight go off to battle, it is customary for a lady to offer him a token for luck."

Gwen smiled at both his teasing and implication and shook her head; "I'm not a lady, Sire, at least not the type you mean,"she offered him a curtsey before turning and heading back to the village, calling over her shoulder; "Besides, I already gave you one."

He watched her go, puzzled, before realization seeped in and he chuckled to himself and pulled at the leather cord hanging around his neck, lifting the wooden star out from under his shirt. A token. Though, really it was a token he'd given her. But, he thought, it would do.

After the fight was done and the battle was won, Arthur found Guinevere sitting on a low stone wall, catching her breath or watching the horizon possibly both. Still in his armour, the village people clearing up around them, he sat down beside her and she offered him a small smile before ducking her head down respectfully.

"We won, Guinevere, like you said we would."

"Yes, Sire, we did. I knew we would."

He watched her as she fixedly refused to look in his direction, she was quite beautiful, this girl who he'd first seen sitting on a step crying, she was pretty then but he'd never noticed when she became beautiful. Beautiful and fierce, she'd held her own well in the fight, defending herself and others.

"Where did you learn to wield a sword, Guinevere?"

She turned her head and met his steady gaze with an unfaltering one of her own; "I am the blacksmith's daughter, My Lord."

He thought if he wasn't the Prince she would have rolled her eyes at him, a part of him wished she had the freedom to express all of her thoughts and feelings to him. He'd like to see them.

"Your father taught you?"

"Yes. He wanted me to be able to defend myself, he didn't want me to vulnerable."

"You fight well, Guinevere."

"Thank you, Sire."

They sat in companionable silence, side by side until Morgana came and asked for Guinevere's help with something and just like that the moment was broken, they were once more servant and Prince no longer two companions reminiscing about battles past.


	4. Chapter 4

Arthur stopped mid-swing and only narrowly ducked the blow his sparring partner aimed at him. He glared and held up a hand to indicate a break in the routine. He dug his sword and leaned on it as he watched the scene that had distracted him from his Knights training. Sir Leon had been noticeably missing from the start of training and now across the field he was idly chatting to Guinevere. Arthur watched as the Knight ducked his head toward Guinevere and she smiled up at him brightly and touched his arm. A sudden and surprising urge to take to Leon's limbs with his sword swept over Arthur but he stayed where he was, jaw clenching and fist tightening around his sword.

He stood up straight and put on what Merlin called his 'princely expression', as Sir Leon strode over to join the training.

"You need to be more discreet."

Leon paused, turned and watched Arthur inquisitively; "Sire?"

"She may be a serving girl but she is still a lady. Her honor and reputation still mean something."

Leon's brow furrowed in confusion then realization dawned and he chuckled; "You think Gwen and I…."

"It is hardly a laughing matter," Arthur snapped, his patience ebbing away. Leon's laughter cut off abruptly.

"No, of course not, Sire. It's just Gwen and I, we are nothing. We are less than nothing." He moved to walk past Arthur but Arthur was not satisfied with that reasoning and called him back with a harsh; "Explain!"

Sir Leon turned back to the Prince; "What would you like me to explain, My Lord?"

"Your relationship with Guinevere."

"I knew her father, respected him. He adored Gwen, now he is gone and she is alone. I feel that he would want to know someone was looking after her."

Arthur took a step closer to Leon and lowered his voice so it held a hint of threat and menace; "And how exactly are you looking after her?"

Leon neither twitched, flinched or blinked at Arthur's blatant insinuation, he merely kept his own tone level; "I walk her home each night."

"You walk her home?"

"Yes. A young woman walking alone after dark? There are those who would take advantage of that, even here in Camelot."

Logically, Arthur knew Leon was right; a woman walking alone at night could and would attract the wrong kind of attention. That didn't mean that Leon escorting Guinevere sat well with Arthur.

"You escort her home every night?"

"Yes, My Lord, unless you would rather her continue to sleep in Merlin's bed."

Arthur flinched slightly, the thought of Guinevere cuddling up in Merlin's bed – even if Merlin was not in it – settled worse with Arthur than Leon walking her home. As Leon bowed his head slightly and brushed past Arthur, Arthur wondered what he and Guinevere talked about as he escorted her home, how many times did she smile up at him, laugh at something he said in that lilting way she had, did she touch his arm, kiss him on the cheek to thank him? Arthur both wanted and didn't want to know the answers to those questions. And when he sparred with Leon, he used a little more force than was entirely necessary.

Gwen wrapped her cloak more tightly around herself as she approached the castle gates, Sir Leon had not been waiting for her outside Morgana's chambers as had become routine, so Gwen assumed that she was on her own. She had made it through the gates when a voice called to her; "Hello, Guinevere."

There was only one person she knew who said her name like that, like they were tasting and testing each and every syllable. She turned back toward the castle and there was Prince Arthur grinning at her. She dropped into a small curtsey; "Sire."

"Come, Guinevere, I'm walking you home." He strode past her and started to lead the way to the lower town but she stood where she was, at a loss as to what to do. Protocol stated that she should walk behind the Prince, but then nowhere in the elusive rulebook did it say that the Prince would walk her home.

"Guinevere," he called back softly and she hurried to catch up with him, deciding to walk beside him because after all they had fought side by side before and were becoming tentative friends.

"Where is Sir Leon, My Lord?"

Arthur looked at her thoughtfully, "Are you missing him?"

Sir Leon was a good walking companion; he kept her talking and laughing and made her feel less worried about the prospect of being alone. But she sensed Arthur did not want to hear this so instead she said; "I am merely inquiring about his whereabouts since it has become habit for him to escort me home."

"He was detained by the King. You'll have to settle for me."

"My Lord, I doubt that anyone has ever settled for you." Flushing, she ducked her head down but not before she noticed a hint of a smile inching its way onto his face. Silence settled around them and the only sound evident in the dark of night was the sound of their steps as they moved further away from the castle to closer to her home. Gwen bit her lip and tried to think of something….anything to say to the Prince but she was coming up entirely blank.

"Do you blame me?" Arthur blurted out suddenly and Gwen faltered in her steps and frowned up at him.

"Sire?"

He came to a stop and she stopped too, gazing around, aware that it was not proper for her to be having conversations with the Prince of Camelot in the middle of the street, late at night. But as she looked around the deserted streets of Camelot for anyone who might see her standing alone with Arthur, Arthur himself seemed entirely unconcerned about propriety and more concerned with her answering his question.

"Your father's death, Guinevere, do you place the blame on me?" His eyes seemed tortured by the question and by the answer she may give.

"Your father killed my father for taking payment from a sorcerer, it was wrong to take his life for such a small crime," She said slowly, cautious that her words could be interpreted as treason, especially by Arthur; "But to blame you for your father's actions would be just as wrong."

Arthur bit his lip and nodded in that almost endearing manner he did when he was thinking; "Are you saying that because you truly mean it or because you think that is what I want to hear?"

"I don't blame you, I'm sure you did all you could." Even if all he could was not enough.


End file.
